Treatment of organic material



June 29 1926.

E- TAYLQR TREATMENT OF ORGANIC MATERIAL Original Filed March 11. 1920INVENTOR ATTORNEYJ Paternal June '29,. 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWIN TAYLOR, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO TAYLOR LABORATORIES.INC, 0]! NEW 1033, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

TREATMENT OF ORGAN IC MATERIAL.

Original application filed March 11, 1920,. Serial No. 364,980. Dividedand this application Med Jun 17,

' 1924. Serial No. 720,522.

. My invention relates to improvementsin the treatment of'organicmaterial, and more particularly to the treatment of cellular or fibrousorganic material such as cellulose in the form of. cotton or otherwise.This application is a division of my prior application Serial No.364,980, filed March 11, 1920.

The main object of this invention is to provide an improved method oftreating such organic material whereby the same may be and then removesolvent constituents fromthe material by the aid of electrolytic action.

I will illustrate the invention In describing the preferred treatment ofcel ulose' material such as cotton. As solvent I preferto use a solutionof. zinc chloride or cup-r0 ammonia, the latter repared by dissolvinghydrated cupric oxi e in strong ammonia water.

After solution is complete the viscous mass is allowed to stand forabout 24 hours, duringwhich time it becomes much more fluid and may beforced through a filter by means of pressure. A fine sand bed on top ofa layer of nitro-cotton, which in turn is supported by a fine wirescreen is quite satisfactory. When desired the solutions are nowconcentrated by centrifugal action.

The colloidal solution of cellulose is then preferably treated in anapparatus like that shown in the accompanying drawing which forms a part'of this specification and which illustrates more or lessdiagrammatically a section of an apparatus adapted for the purpose.

Referring to the drawing, a closed tank.

10 is supplied with filling means 8, a pipe 9, for. admission ofpressure, and a nozzle or nozzles 12 provided with an orifice 4extending through the tank wall preferably at the bottom. Below 10 is-asecond covered tank 20, containing dilute acid at the bottom andfurnished with an overlapping end or compartmen't 52, above the acidlevel. The nozzle or nozzles 12, extend through'the topof and driven bya roller 25 exterior-to tank 2.0

and supported by guide rolls 2626-26" enters tank 20 near the top at itsrearward end, passes over roller 26 and downwardly across the open endof compartment 52, until under the level of the acid in tank 20. Thebelt then passes under second guide roll 26, and longitudinally throughthe acid until near the end of the tank where it passes down underanother guide" roll Y26" and thence at an angle out of the acid throughan aperture 59 in the endwall of.20 and over the driving roll 25,situated several feet beyond 20. This belt is provided with a. contactshoe 28 carrying an electrical connection 29, and inuse the belt becomesan anode. Running lengthwise of tank 20 near the bottom is a metallicplate 31, of any width with its forward end 31 upturned and providedwith a conductor 32 causin'g it to become a cathode on passing a properelectric current.

A wide thin stream or curtain of acid water 54. is caused to flowcontinuously down that portion of the belt opposite compartment 52, andwith the run of-the belt, by means of a slotted pipe 55 running acrossthe top of the tank. Beyond tank 20 is another tank 50 across which runsa second slotted pipe 58 so situated that clean water may be driventhrough it with the run of the belt, thereby dislodging any materialadhering to the belt and preventing this wash water from running downthe belt into tank 20. The acid water in 20 is used to supply pipe 55,through intermittently operated auxiliary tanks (not shown) so that thecurrent may not ground itself through the circulating system. An outletpipe 33 servesto remove any gas injected into or developed in theapparatus.

In operation tank 10 is filled with any desired organic materialdissolved in a metal containing solvent and pressure applied. In thiscase dilute solutions are preferable to viscous, concentrated ones onaccount of the finer particles produced by the atomizers. The belt 2 1is started running, in the direction shown by arrows and a curtain ofacid water flowed across its descending face by pipe 55. Compressed airor other gas is driven through nozzle 2 across the descending stream ofdissolved organic material and the resulting spray 53 driven against thedescending acid water curtain whereby the fine spray particles areimmediately covered J by a protecting film which prevents them fromadhering to one another, successive fresh acid continually meeting theincoming particles. The line of impact of the spray 53 on the watercurtain should be as narrow as possible and for this reason the orifices4 of the nozzles 12 and also of the nozzles 2 should be narrow slots inpreference to round holes. Owing to the contact of the acid water withthe belt and with the liquid in tank 20 the fine particles of organicmatter are in an electric field from the time of impact and inconsequence seek to adhere to the anode 'or belt 21, the particles whichdo not im- -mediately adhere do so later during their travel between theelectrodes, they being carried along by the flow' of liquid caused bythe descent of the acid water and the directional flow given it by theupturned end 31 of the cathode 31 and held in susension until they arepulled to the anode y the electrical current.

During their passage through the electrolytic tank or cell the currentpasses through the particles of cellulose solution causing, byelectrolytic action, the copper or metal of the solvent to be depositedon the cathode, freeing the ammonia or chlorine as the case may be, andthe thus purified cellulose to be more firmly deposited on the travelinganode in finely divided condition. In this way the solvent constituentsare re moved from the cellulose or the like electrolytically. The timerequired for deposition of the metal and release of the gaseousconstituent is small, due to the large surface exposed to electrolyticaction by the fine state of division and the much thinner wall ormembrane through which the solvent constituents are obliged to pass. Thebelt with its adhering load of organic material now passes out of theacid water through the opening 59 in tank 20 and towards driving roll25. As the particles pass the opening in pipe 58 they are swept from thebelt by the water driven from said opening and together with the waterfall into wash-tank 50. After washing, the finely divided material isready for any subsequent operations or uses. Owing to the atomizing andto the great shrinkage in volume (approximately 80%) in drying (whichmay be done, by placing the powder in a container and passing carbontetrochloride, acetone orother dehydrating agent therethrough) theproduct may be obtained in a state of microscopical fineness. It isparticularly adapted for insulating packing material, as an absorbent,or after nitration, for explosive purposes.

As to the process in general, the utmost care should be exercised toavoid all dust and dirt. The solutions must be carefully filtered anddirt kept out afterward. All the apparatus should be closed in whereverpossible. The water employed for making up the solutions should bedistilled or at any rate contain a minimum of mineral salts and shouldbe free from carbonic acid gas if a fine filament or a perfectlytransparent product is desired.

The strength ofthe acid employed is a variable factor depending uponwhether the cellulose, etc., is subjected to the electrolyzing currentduring the forming or whether the formed material must be transportedsome distance before coming under its influence. It is best found byexperiment for any particular case although I have never used above of1% and from to is generally sufficient of sulphuric'acid. prefer to usenitrie acid as its ultimate product under electrolysis is alwaysammonia. The bath may be kept to strength by the simple addition ofnitric acid, the ammonia released from the organic solution or formed byelectrolysis being readily drawn from the top of the tanks and directlyrecovered,

'and any residual acid easily removed from the-cellulose, etc., bywashing.

If silk material is used as raw.materia1 it may be dissolved in asolution of nickel ammonia formed by dissolving hydrated nickel oxide in30% ammonia water.

The material produced by the above process or processes is in most casescapale of being again dissolved by solvents having the same constitutionas those orig inally used and any trimmings, misshapen pieces, etc., maybe redissolved and added to fresh solutions thereby, reducing waste ofraw or finished material.

While I have described my improvements in great detail and with respectto preferred em odiments thereof, I do not desire to be limited to suchdetails or forms, since many changes and modifications may be made andthe invention embodied in widely difi'erent What I claim as new anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1 The method of treating organic material which'consists in treating thesame with. solvent toput thhnaterial in solu tion, spraying the solutionto finely divide it, and removing solvent constituents therefromelectrolytically.

2. The method of treating cellular or.

fibrous organic material which consists in dissolving the material insolvent therefor, spraying the solution on a moving carrier to depositthe solution on the carrier in di.-. vided condition and passing thecarrier through an electrolyti field to remove sol vent constituentsfrom the material by electrolytic action.

3. The method of treating cellulosic material which consists indissolving the ma terial in a suitable solvent, spraying the solution tosubdivide it into small particles and subjecting the latter toelectrolytic action to remove solvent constituents therefrom.

4. The method oftreating cellulosic ma-' terial which consists indissolving the material in a suitable solvent, spraying the soluremovingthe purified particles from the carrier b spraying. a

6 'I he method of treating cellulosic material which consists indissolving the material in a suitable solvent containing a metal,spraying the solution to subdivide it into small particles andsubjecting the latter to electrolytic action to remove solventconstituents therefrom.

7. The method of treating cellulosic material which consistsindissolving the ma terial in a suitable solvent containing a metal,spraying the solution to subdivide it into small particles andsubjecting the latter to electrolytic action to remove solventconstituents therefrom, and removing the purified particles from thecarrier by sprayin a The method of treating cellular or fibrous organicmaterial which consists in dissolving the material in solvent therefor,spraying the solution on a moving carrier to deposit the solution on thecarrier in divided condition and passing the carrier through anelectrolytic field to remove solvent con-v stituents from the materialby electrolytic action, and removing the purified particles from thecarrier by spraying.

Intestimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

EDWIN TAYLOR.

